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IRC-057.2018-RECOMMENDED PRACTICE For Sealin Gof Joints in Concrete Pavements
IRC-057.2018-RECOMMENDED PRACTICE For Sealin Gof Joints in Concrete Pavements
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IRC:57-2018
Contents
Kumar, Manoj Director General (Road Development) & Special Secretary to Govt. of
1
(Convenor) India, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, New Delhi
Singh, B.N. Addl. Director General, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways,
2
(Co-Convenor) New Delhi
Verma, Dr. S.K. Chief Engineer (R) S,R & T, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways,
3
(Member Secretary) New Delhi
Members
4 Bamezai, Prof. (Dr.) Gita R&D, Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi
5 Basar, Toli Chief Engineer, PWD, Arunachal Pradesh
6 Bhanot, Balraj Chairman, TED, Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi
7 Bongirwar, P.L. Secretary (Retd.), PWD Maharashtra
DG(RD) & AS (Retd.), Ministry of Road Transport and Highways,
8 Gupta, D.P.
New Delhi
9 Jain, Prof. (Dr.) S.S. Professor, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee
10 Jain, R.K. Chief Engineer (Retd.), PWD Haryana
Chief Executive, L.R. Kadiyali & Associates, New Delhi
11 Kadiyali, Dr. L.R.
(Expired on 18.02.2016)
12 Lal, Bhure Chairman, Environment Pollution Control Authority, Delhi
Engineer-in-Chief, Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority,
13 Lal, Chaman
Haryana
14 Narain, Sunita DG, Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi
15 Nashikkar, J.T. Secretary (Retd.), PWD Maharashtra
16 Pandey, R.K. Member (Projects), National Highways Authority of India, New Delhi
17 Parida, Prof. (Dr.) M. Dean, SRIC, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee
18 Pateriya, Dr. I.K. Director (Tech), National Rural Roads Development Agency, New Delhi
19 Pawar, Ajit Secretary (Retd.), PWD Maharashtra
20 Porwal, Dr. S.S. (VSM) ADG (Retd.), Border Roads Organisation, New Delhi
21 Raju, Dr. G.V.S. Engineer-in-Chief (Retd.), Roads & Building, Andhra Pradesh
22 Rawat, M.S. Executive Director, AECOM India Pvt. Ltd.
23 Sarangi, D. CGM, National Highways Authority of India, New Delhi
24 Sharma, M.P. Chief Engineer, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, New Delhi
DG(RD) & SS (Retd.), Ministry of Road Transport and Highways,
25 Sharma, S.C.
New Delhi
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IRC:57-2018
Corresponding Members
1 Baluja, Dr. Rohit President, Institute of Road Traffic Education, New Delhi
2 Bhowmik, Sunil Engineer-in-Chief (Retd.), Tripura
DG(RD) & SS (Retd.), Ministry of Road Transport and Highways,
3 Kandasamy, C
New Delhi
The Director,
4 (Patil, Capt. (Dr.) Rajendra B. Central Institute of Road Transport, Pune
Saner)
Ex-Officio Members
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IRC:57-2018
1 INTRODUCTION
IRC:57, “Recommended Practice for Sealing of Joints in Concrete Pavements” was first
published in the year 1974. It was revised in the year 2006. Due to considerable changes
in the technology for road construction, a need was felt to further update this document
and accordingly the task of revision of this document was assigned to Rigid Pavements
Committee (H-3). The revised draft was prepared by the subgroup comprising Shri R.K. Jain,
Col. (Retd.) V.K. Ganju, Shri M.C. Venkatesha and Shri Satander Kumar. Other than the H-3
Committee members, valuable inputs were received from the officers of S&R Zone of the
Ministry. The draft was deliberated in several meetings of H-3 Committee and was finalized in
its meeting held on 9th September, 2017. The revised draft was placed before the Highways
Specifications and Standards Committee (HSS) in its meeting held on 24th October, 2017.
The HSS Committee approved the draft subject to the consideration of the observations
of members. The draft document after carrying out the modifications was considered and
approved by the Executive Committee of IRC in its meeting held on 2nd November, 2017 for
placing before the Council of IRC. The Council in its meeting held on 3rd November, 2017 at
Bengaluru considered and approved the document for printing.
The composition of H-3 Committee is as given below:
Members
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IRC:57-2018
2 SCOPE
The document prescribes about the practices of forming joints in a concrete pavement and
sealing them either using field-moulded sealants or pre-formed compression seals. The
technique of resealing of failed old joints has also been given in the document.
3 GENERAL
3.1 Cement concrete pavements (roads, streets, airport apron, taxi-ways and
runways, etc) are subjected to volumetric changes (expansion and contraction) caused
by changes in their moisture content and/or temperature which leads to initial drying,
shrinkage and irreversible creep. These changes cause movements of slabs. If contraction
movements are excessively restrained, they will result in cracking of the pavement. On
the other hand, the restraint of expansion movements may result in development of
compressive stresses that are borne by abutting faces of the slab. Transverse joints are
provided to accommodate these movements and thereby prevent development of distress
in the pavement. Longitudinal joints are provided to relieve stresses due to wrapping
and dividing the pavement into convenient lanes. Joints are also required to facilitate
construction.
3.2 Details of different types of joints in concrete pavements are outlined in IRC:15,
“Code of Practice for Construction of Jointed Plain Concrete Pavements”. The present
standard is intended to augment the provisions contained in IRC:15.
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IRC:57-2018
3.3 The introduction of joints creates openings in the slab which must be sealed in order
to prevent ingress of rain water to the sub-base/subgrade or other unwanted substances, like,
grit into the openings. Foreign solid matter which is incompressible must be prevented from
accumulating in the joints, otherwise the joints cannot close freely later. Should the joints get
clogged with foreign solid matter, malfunctioning of the joints may occur and high stress may
be generated in the slab leading to spalling of concrete and development of cracks. Sealing
of these joints is done using either field-moulded sealants or preformed compression seal.
3.4 The performance and life of a sealing compound depend not only on the properties
of the sealing compound and the mode of application but also on the design of the joints. The
types of joints normally formed in concrete pavements are described below.
The shape of the joint groove intended as a reservoir of sealant largely depends upon the
type of sealant used. Shape factor of a sealant is defined as:
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IRC:57-2018
Although theoretically the above shape factors are desirable, some authorities feel that ratio
of 3:2 is to be preferred. Therefore, a compromise has to be made in deciding the shape
factor based on the field experience so that the stress produced within sealant body is within
the allowable limit specified by the manufacturers.
5 TYPE OF JOINTS
5.1 In cement concrete pavements, the following types of joints are commonly provided:
(a) Contraction joints
(b) Expansion joints
(c) Construction joints
(d) Longitudinal joints
A typical pavement layout generally adopted in a two-lane road is shown in Fig. 2.
7.0 m
3.5 m 3.5 m
Longitudinal
joint
dowel bar
contraction
joint
tie bar
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IRC:57-2018
These are purposely made weakened planes which relieve the tensile stresses in the
concrete caused due to changes in moisture content (drying shrinkage) and/or temperature
and prevent the formation of irregular cracks due to restraint in free contraction of concrete.
They also relieve stresses due to wrapping.
Details of the contraction joints are given in IRC:15. They are formed initially by sawing a
groove of 3-5 mm width up to about one-fourth to one-third the slab thickness as shown in
Fig. 6. This facilitates the formation of a natural crack at this location extending to the full
depth. In order to seal the joint, the top 10-20 mm of this groove is widened to 8-10 mm as
shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5. For heavy duty roads, these joints are provided with steel dowel
bars to improve the continuity of slab and improved performance of joints, including load
transfer. Typical cross-section of a contraction joint is given in Fig. 6(a).
Note: Width of contraction joint play an important role to improve the riding quality. As good
quality saw cutting machines are available, which can ensure very thin joint as low as 3 mm,
low viscosity sealants with higher Movement Accommodation Factor (MAF), good pouring
tools are also available and therefore contraction joints with sealing groove width of 6 mm
resulting in lower maintenance cost and better riding quality are possible to be designed and
constructed.
Longitudinal joints are provided in multi-lane pavements and also when the pavement is
more than 4.0 m wide. They also relieve stresses due to wrapping. Initially joint is cut to a
depth 1/4 to 1/3 of the slab. Tie bars are provided at the joints not for load transference but for
keeping the adjoining slabs together. The details of such joints are given in IRC:15. The top
10-20 mm depth of the joint is sawn to a width of 6-8 mm for sealing. Typical cross-section
of a joint is given in Fig. 6(b).
These are full-depth butt joints provided transversely into which pavement can expand,
thus relieving compressive stresses due to expansion of concrete slabs, and preventing
any tendency towards distortion, buckling, blow-up and spalling. The current practice is to
provide these joints only when concrete slab abuts with bridge or culvert. Details of these
joints are given in IRC:15. They are about 20-25 mm in width.
A joint filler board of compressible material conforming to IRC:15 is used to fill the gap
between the adjacent slabs at the joint. The height of the filler board is such that its top
is 23-25 mm below the surface of the pavement. The joint groove is filled by a sealant
as shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5. Typical cross-section of an expansion joint is given in Fig.
6(c).
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IRC:57-2018
3±1
3±1
8-10
8-10
10-13
10-13
sealant sealant
5
backer rod/
paper backed back-up rod
compressible
heat resistant
debonding strip
contraction joint
3±1
3±1
6-8
6-8
8-10
8-10
sealant sealant
heat resistant
debonding tape
backer rod/
1-2
back-up rod
longitudinal joint
3±1
20-25
sealant
20
heat resistant
debonding tape
compressible
1-2
synthetic
filler board
expansion joint
notes:
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IRC:57-2018
3±1
3±1
8-10
8-10
10-13
10-13
sealant sealant
5
back-up rod
paper backed
compressible
debonding strip
contraction joint
3±1
3±1
6-8
6-8
8-10
8-10
sealant sealant
debonding tape
back-up rod
1-2
longitudinal joint
3±1
20-25
sealant
20
debonding tape
compressible
1-2
synthetic
filler board
e x pansion joint
notes :
1.
1. Paper
Paper backing
backing of of compressible
compressible debonding
debonding strip
strip is
is not
not
necessary
necessaryif ifthe
thestrip
stripis
isnon-absorbent
non-absorbenttype.
type.
2.
2. Joints
Joints can
can bebe sealed
sealed byby adopting
adopting one
one ofof the
the two
two option
option of
of
debonding
debondingstrip/backer-rod
strip/backer-rodas asshown.
shown.
3.
3. Depending upon the sealant manufacturer’s recommendation,
Depending upon the sealant manufacturer’s recommendation,
the
the sides
sides of
of the
the groove
groove may
may have
have to
to be
be sand
sand blasted/sand
blasted/sand
papered
paperedandandprimed.
primed.
4.
4. The
The groove
groove and and sealant
sealant dimensions
dimensions shown
shown are
are only
only for
for
guidance.
guidance.
5.
5. backer
backer rod/back-up
rod/back-up rod rod shall
shall be
be expanded
expanded closed-cell
closed-cell
polyethylene
polyethyleneform.
form.
6.
6. Ends
Ends of
of the
the sealant
sealant groove
groove shall
shallbe
be plugged
plugged before
before pouring
pouring
sealant
sealantto toavoid
avoidspillage
spillagelaterally.
laterally.
7. all
7. alldImensions
dImensionsare arein
inmm.
mm.
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IRC:57-2018
3±1
3±1
8-10
6-7 8-10
6-7
sealant sealant
5
back-up rod
paper backed
compressible
debonding strip
contraction joint
3±1
3±1
6-8
6-8
sealant
6
sealant
6
debonding tape
back-up rod
1-2
longitudinal joint
3±1
20-25
10
sealant
debonding tape
1-2
compressible
synthetic
filler board
expansion joint
notes:
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IRC:57-2018
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6 SEALING DETAILS
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IRC:57-2018
extraneous material from entering the joint including slurry generated during sawing process.
Depth/width gauges shall be used to control the dimension of the groove. If rough arises
develop when grooves are made, they shall be ground to provide a chamfer of 3 mm width.
If the groove is at an angle upto 10 degrees from the perpendicular to the surface, the
overhanging edge of the sealing groove shall be sawn or ground perpendicular. If spalling
occurs or the angle of the former is greater than 10 degrees, the joint sealing groove shall
be sawn wider and perpendicular to the surface to encompass the defects upto a maximum
width, including any chamfer, of 35 mm for transverse joints and 20 mm for longitudinal
joints. If the spalling cannot be eliminated then the arises shall be repaired by an approved
thin bonded arises repair material using epoxy mortar. All grooves shall be cleaned of any
dirt or loose material by air blasting with filtered, oil-free compressed air. If need arises, the
cleaning may be done by pressurized water jets. Depending upon the requirement of the
sealant manufacturer, the sides of the grooves may be sand blasted to increase the bondage
between the sealant and the concrete. Based on the recommendation of manufacturer, the
joint grooves shall be primed before applying sealant. At the time of priming and sealing, the
groove shall be clean and dry.
As per IRC:15, joint cutting equipment which can be used to cut joint at the early age of
concrete is called as early-entry saw. This is light weight equipment and has a plate called
‘skid plate’ on both sides of saw to keep concrete pressed at the location of saw cutting to
basically control raveling. With use of early-entry joint cutting equipment, joints can be cut
even earlier than that mentioned above with the permission of the Engineer. The depth of cut
shall be minimum 10 % of slab thickness subject to 30 mm minimum.
Early-entry saw cutting are dry-cuts so their blades are designed for use without water for
cooling. They are also “up-cut” saws, meaning that the cutting edge of the blade moves
upward during operation. This helps to push debris out of the joint. In addition, they have a
skid plate, which slides on the concrete surface and has slot through which the saw blade
is inserted. The skid plate holds the concrete in place during cutting to minimize crumbling/
raveling/dislodging of aggregates from the joint edges. The gap between the blade and the
edge of the slot is extremely narrow. Over time, abrasion may cause widening of the slot and
increases the chance for edge ravelling of the joint. Therefore, early-entry saw cutting requires
replacement of skid plate each time the blade is replaced for maximum effectiveness.
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IRC:57-2018
The width of the debonding strip shall be more than the width of joint groove so that it is held
tightly in the groove.
In the case of longitudinal joints there is no need to install compressible debonding strip but a
debonding tape of 1.0-2.0 mm thickness is sufficient to plug the groove so that sealant does
not flow downwards in the first cut groove. Heat resistant debonding strip, however, is to be
used when hot-poured sealant is used.
6.6 Priming
A primer is used to improve the adhesive bond between sealing compound and concrete, to
penetrate the pores of the concrete and to coat it with a thin film of viscous sticky material.
The primer must have a very low viscosity so as to penetrate the pores of the concrete. The
primer to be used shall be a recommended by the sealant manufacturer.
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IRC:57-2018
The primer shall be applied to the joint faces by spray or brush as soon as the surface is
prepared, cleaned and dried as per specification. The primer shall be applied carefully so that
the joint surfaces are evenly coated. Pools of excess primer shall be avoided as these may
be detrimental to the subsequent performance of the sealant.
Some sealant manufacturers do not recommend use of primer with their product, but cleaning
and sand blasting sides may be necessary.
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IRC:57-2018
The minimum depth of the sealant shall not be less than that specified. On super-elevated
portions where the cross-fall is greater than 2.5 per cent, measures should be taken to ensure
that the sealant does not flow along the joint by (i) placing the material in thin layers and
allowing each layer to stiffen before placing the next or (ii) forming dams at intervals along
the joint to check the flow. The dams should be thereafter cut and replaced with sealant. In
order to avoid spillage of sealant on the concrete surface card-board or tape should be stuck
on both edges before pouring sealant. The sealant may be pressed by a tool to have smooth
surface. Sealing operation can be done by sophisticated melter and pourer. A kettle used for
sealing manually is shown in Fig. 8.
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IRC:57-2018
care is needed in selecting the product and applying them. They require greater care
in preparing the edges and the bottom of the groove (drying, cleaning and coating with
primer). They are costlier than hot applied sealants. But their higher cost is justified by
longer life.
( )
( )
For highly elastic material, MAF value will be higher. Polysulphide sealants have MAF of
more than ±25%. The MAF of silicone sealants is in the range of -50% to +100%. This
sealant can be compressed to its 50% size whereas it can be stretched to 100% of its original
length without any change in the volume of sealant.
Polysulphide sealants are generally supplied in the form of two components packed separately.
They are to be mixed immediately before being used. They shall confirm to BS 5212-Part II.
Sealing details of joints when polysulphide sealant is used are given in Fig. 4. Silicon sealants
are single component type. They shall conform to ASTM Designation D 5893-96. This sealant
hardens by absorbing moisture from the atmosphere. For it to harden in reasonable time, the
sealant is placed in thin section.
The cold application sealants are applied in the field either by hand-held guns/syringe or
machine in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. The surface of the sealant shall
be recessed by not less than 2 mm nor more than 4 mm below the pavement surface.
Sealants applied at contraction phase of the slabs would result in bulging of the sealant
over and above the slab. Therefore, the right temperature and time shall be established for
applying the sealant. A thermometer shall be hung on a pole at the site for facilitating control
during the sealing operation.
Details of sealing grooves are given for guidance in Figs. 3, 4 and 5. The groove dimensions
are different for silicone sealants as thin sections are preferred for early curing.
During the sealing operations, it shall be seen that no air bubbles are introduced into the
sealant either by vapours or during the sealing process.
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IRC:57-2018
Manufacturer’s certificate shall be produced for establishing that the sealant is not more than
six months old or the shelf-life of the sealant.
The cold applied sealants shall be tooled so that the final surface of the sealant has a
parabolic shape in the surface cross-sectional area or as per the recommendation of the
manufacturer.
Any sealant that pulls loose from the joints or shows excessive bubbling within one week
after opening of the pavement to traffic shall be replaced by a fresh application.
7 PREFORMED SEALS
The pre-formed joint scaling material shall be a vulcanized elastomeric compound using
polychloroprene (Neoprene) as the base polymer.
The Joint Seal Shall conform to requirements of ASTM D 2628 as given in Table 2.
10. Low temperature recovery, 22h at -10 ºC, 50% 88% min D 2628
deflection
11. High temperature recovery, 22h at -29 ºC, 50% 83% min D 2628
deflection
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IRC:57-2018
12. Low temperature recovery, 22h at 100 ºC, 50% 85% min D 2628
deflection
The groove width and depth shall depend upon the manufacturers specifications. They
shall be installed preferably by a machine after cleaning the groove as described in
para 6.5.
When existing sealant has cracked or has detached from the sides, the sealant shall be
removed with a raker, and the surface are cleaned by brushing or using special tools or by
sawing the groove afresh and air jet upto a depth of at least 20-25 mm. A raker normally used
for cleaning the joints as shown in Fig. 9. Temporary seal with a jute rope shall be inserted
to protect the joints from ingress of dirt etc. before resealing joints. If the grooves are too
narrow, widening by sawing may be necessary. Any spalled edges shall be repaired with
a cementitious material (epoxy or polymer based fine concrete). Primer shall be applied to
the cleaned surface in the manner described earlier. If recommended and resealing done as
described earlier.
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IRC:57-2018
References
1. Steffes, R and Siljenberg, B J 2003, Early Entry Sawed Portland Cement Concrete
Transverse Joint Ends, Iowa Department of Transportation, 800 Lincoln Way Ames,
I A United States 50010, The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and
Medicine, 500 Fifth Street, NW | Washington, DC 20001
2. http://texascurbcut.com/services/early-entry-sawing-with-vacuum-system/
3. https://www.ussaws.com/early-entry-joint-saw.html
4. https://www.constructionequipment.com/.../cardinal-saws-and-blades-inc
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IRC:57-2018
Annexure-I
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